Ball Green Farm Battery Storage System
Anesco Limited, is proposing to develop a 49.35MW renewable energy battery storage system on land off Bemersley Road, Brown Edge, Staffordshire, Moorlands, ST6 8UL.
The proposal involves the construction and operation of an energy storage system that will connect into the local electricity network comprising; battery storage units, a substation located on the North side of the site, associated infrastructure, and landscaping. The application area is approximately 5 acres and planning permission has been sought for a period of 40 years.
Project update (December 2024)
Unfortunately the planning application was refused by Staffordshire Moorlands Council, and having considered our options we have submitted an Appeal against the decision. The Appeal will be considered in March 2025 by the independent Planning Inspectorate.
In submitting the Appeal, we have sought to make minor changes to the proposed development which includes:
- Updating the layout of cabinets and batteries.
- Reorientation of the batteries within the site to better sit within the existing levels.
- Reduction in the overall area covered by cabinets and batteries.
- Relocation of the development area further away from the eastern boundary, and therefore further away from sensitive receptors such as housing.
- Introduction of a turning area within the site.
- Associated landscaping and screening enhancements.
- Replacement of the proposed acoustic screen with a landscape-led screen solution, offering additional visual benefits.
We have requested the Appeal based upon these revised plans. Therefore, this is the opportunity for you to provide comments on these amended plans.
Revised plans
The revised plans are available here and here.
How to comment on the revised plans:
Comments on these revised plans should be submitted here or via the link at the bottom of website.
You can also write to us by email to [email protected].
Comments should be submitted by 24th December 2024
Click the links below to access:
Updated revised plans:
Original plans:
System design details
- System size: 49.35MW
- Battery blocks: 12
- Substation: 132kV DNO Substation
About battery storage technology
Battery energy storage systems have become an essential ingredient in how the UK manages and stores electricity, in particular renewable energy. An advanced green technology, they store and release electricity into the grid as required, offering energy security.
National Grid has developed a scheme, Dynamic Frequency Response, to maintain stable frequency levels thereby ensuring the electricity grid is more resistant to disruption and heavy demand at peak times. Examples of this could be in the mornings and evenings, when a power station goes off-line, or an energy intensive industry ‘comes on’. In these situations, batteries discharge the stored electricity to the grid, balancing the frequency and maintaining grid stability.
Battery storage is becoming vital in ‘peak load shifting’, providing National Grid with a solution to balancing the supply and demand for electricity.
About Anesco
Anesco has long understood the need for energy storage and remains the largest designer and developer of utility scale battery energy storage systems in the UK. Anesco also provides a comprehensive operations and maintenance service, providing confidence that the systems we install perform at the highest level throughout their lifetime.
Climate change emergency
The UK government became the first major economy in the world to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. By this date the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions will be carbon neutral. Battery storage systems can help the fight against climate change by storing excess energy.
Staffordshire Moorlands Council are committed to the sustainable development plan for the district. The use of renewable and low carbon energy has an important part to play to meet the District’s future energy demand through the adoption of renewable technology.
Biodiversity Enhancements
Projects of this kind present biodiversity enhancement opportunities. Ball Green Farm energy storage facility is not located within an AONB (Area Outstanding Natural Beauty), National Park or considered a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is away from any heritage designations or features. It is situated away from residential properties.
The RSPB ‘State of Nature Report’ highlights the severity of the decline in British wildlife. One of the biggest causes for the decline of biodiversity according to the report is the loss of hedgerows.
A full landscape and visual impact assessment will be completed, and Anesco will ensure that the land, which is currently Grade 3 land, and has very little biodiversity, is planned for carefully and maintained over the life of the development. Hedgerows will be planted to not only screen the energy storage containers but encourage more wildlife and contribute towards national biodiversity targets.
Anesco will produce a site-specific biodiversity plan devised to cover the lifetime of the proposed site, working closely with the local community, ecologists, and conservation organisations to ensure that the biodiversity enhancements are most appropriate to the local area.
FEEDBACK
Anesco encourages views from residents on the proposal as laid on this webpage
The deadline for feedback is 24th December 2024
Click here to access the feedback form
THANK YOU
Clean green technology
Supports biodiversity
Protects the grid from disruption
